Perfect Picnic Essentials

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #newOREOThins #CollectiveBias

So the official beginning of summer was yesterday. There are so, so many things I love about summer, but one of those is picnics! And the best part of picnics is that they don’t even require you to go far. They can be big weekend get-togethers, or they can just be a way to spice up a weekday. This one was at a nearby park, just a short walk away from our abode.

To celebrate the start of this summer season, I decided to share my list of what I consider to be essentials for the perfect picnic, as well as some tips. I wrote up a checklist for all the things you need to set that fun, romantic mood that every picnic should have. Check it all out below!

My inspiration for this post came from the new OREO THINS. I love their minimalistic delicate look, and that’s what I was going for with this picnic. The OREO THINS are a lot crunchier than the regulars, with the perfect amount of cream, and they’re sooo good, guys. The bites you see in my photos were not necessarily for artistic purposes. I included these in my picnic because they’re perfect portable treats, and you can grab them at Walmart. Mine carried the OREO THINS Mint (omg so good), original OREO THINS,  OREO THINS Chocolate, OREO THINS Golden, and there are the OREO THINS Lemon too. You can grab them in either the normal packages, or 12-pack boxes of individual sizes.

Have you tried them? What’s your favorite flavor? And do you have a favorite summer activity??

1. Picnic Basket: these can get really pricey, so I suggest keeping an eye out while thrifting! I went out looking specifically for a picnic basket one day and expected to stop by several thrift stores in my search. I don’t know if I was just lucky, but I found two beautiful picnic baskets at my first store and bought this one for no more than 8 bucks. Maybe it was 4, I don’t remember. Either way, try it out!

2. Flowers: a picnic basket is not complete if it’s not spilling with summery flowers. Trust me, it’s necessary.

3. Picnic Blanket: a lot of advertised picnic blankets are practical, but let’s be honest, they’re often not as cute. I recommend looking in the throw blanket section, that’s where I found this cotton blanket I’m obsessed with.

4. Cheese and Charcuterie Board: some of our go-to’s are prosciutto, good salame and pepperoni, smoked gouda, table water crackers, and hard bread sticks. I can’t keep those hard bread sticks around me, though, they’re insanely addicting.

5. Spill-proof Beverage Containers: I learned my lesson on a plane one day while attempting to put my backpack in the overhead bin. I thought the water bottle in my side pocket was trustworthy…but no, it leaked all over a poor guy sitting below! It was dripping right into his lap and I was beyond embarrassed! Luckily I had some homemade cookies with me and offered them as an apology, but the moral of the story is: just invest in spill-proof bottles, they will make your life so much easier.

6. Summer Fruits: they are a perfect summery treat to graze on while enjoying nature.

7. Plates, Glasses, Utensils: If you can only bring one non-disposable, I say go for the glasses! Picnics are extra fun when you’re drinking out of fancy glasses.

8. Portable Dessert: minimal clean-up is ideal, and these have zero. Been obsessed with OREO THINS lately, I love the thin crunchy texture. I told hubby I’d save them for when he returns, but they’re slowly disappearing… #oops

9. Clean-up: Don’t forget essentials like paper towels for random messes, hand wipes, and plastic bags for dirty dishes and trash.